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Summertime marks the peak season for local art fairs and festivals. Here in the Twin Cities we have a dozen or more major art fairs between May and September.

Hundreds of thousands of people will attend these events over the next few months. If you are an artist or creative professional who plans to make at least part of your living by selling your work, there is one thing you absolutely must do if you want to sell more of your work and put more money in your pocket: grow your email list and learn to market yourself.

No one will buy your work if they don’t know who are or where to find you.

I have been a member of the Ed Slott Elite IRA Group for nearly a decade. One of the benefits of membership is that twice a year I get to geek out on the latest rules and regulations regarding IRAs and retirement plans with over 400 financial advisors from around the country.

This is also one of the best opportunities in the industry to meet with other like-minded advisors to learn how to help our clients make the most of their retirement assets, and take a deep dive into the estate and financial planning strategies that benefit them most.

This spring’s conference in Kansas City, Missouri, did not disappoint. In the future I may do a more detailed blog post on one or more of the topics below. In the meantime, follow along as I share some of the highlights of the spring conference.

Over $23 trillion sits in various types of retirement accounts across America, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Even that figure may be low. Since 2011 – when that figure was calculated — markets have increased and retirement savers have contributed even more to their plans, adding thousands of dollars to the average person’s retirement plan balance.

No doubt, trillions more sit in bank accounts, brokerage accounts, mutual funds and other types of “non-qualified” investment accounts.

But if you thought your most important retirement asset was some sort of financial account, you would be wrong.

Last week Focus Financial hosted its second annual Shred-It event at Insight Brewing in NE Minneapolis.

Each year clients bring their sensitive documents to be destroyed in a secure way. Then we celebrate over a beer and burger from Simply Steve’s Food Truck. Tim Mahoney provided live entertainment to warm up the crowd on a cold and wet Thursday night.

In case you missed it, here’s a brief list of what you can safely discard and when:

Shred Immediately

ATM receipts

Paid credit card statements

Paid utility bills

Credit offers

Cancelled checks (that are not tax-related)

Expired warranties

Up to 1 Year

Pay stubs

Bank statements

Paid, undisputed medical bills

After 7 Years

Tax-related receipts

Tax-related cancelled checks W-2s

Records for tax deductions taken

It Depends…

Auto titles: Keep as long as you own the vehicle

Home deeds: Keep as long as you own the property

Disputed medical bills: Keep until the issue is resolved

Home improvement receipts: Keep until you sell your home and pay any capital gains taxes

Keep Forever

Birth certificates

Social Security Cards

Marriage or Divorce Decrees

Citizenship Papers

Adoption Paper

Death Certificates

Tax Returns

For more info on protecting sensitive, private information, go to FTC.gov.

2016 US Figure Skating National Champion, Gracie Gold warming up at the Excel Center, St. Paul, MN.

Recently, my family and I had the opportunity to attend the US National Figure Skating Championships at the Excel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. While my kids stalked skating celebs hoping for an autograph or selfie, my wife and I enjoyed watching the best skaters in the country vie for the title of US National Champion.

To be the best in any sport requires a mind-boggling amount of talent, discipline and focus. Figure skating is no exception.

Becoming a champion figure skater may not be on your bucket list, but I am guessing that goals like comfortable retirement or sending your kids to college are.

Below I list eight things that I learned about achieving financial success from watching some of the country’s most successful figure skaters.

Planning and goal setting are everything. Competing at the highest levels takes years of setting high goals and developing a plan to reach them. Even my little 10-year old star on ice meets with her coach to set goals for the year and develop a detailed plan to meet them.

Your financial goals require the same skillset.

Retiring at age 62 with 95% of your current income or paying for half your kids college expenses requires a lot of planning over a long period of time. Meeting on a regular basis to review progress towards your goals and making adjustments to your strategy is key to staying on track and reaching your goals.

The great ones make mistakes, but they move on. If you have ever watched figure skating you’ve no doubt seen your favorite skater jump for the stars only to come crashing down to Earth half a second later.

With the exception of 17-year old Polina Edmunds, every one of the top female skaters made mistakes in their short program including Gracie Gold who singled a triple jump.

At the end of her short program, Gold knew she made a serious mistake, but she never lost sight of the big picture. Undeterred, Gracie Gold went on to become the US National Champion two days later.

You will make mistakes as well.

An IRA required distribution is missed. Stock options weren’t sold when they were in the money. You jumped out of the market when you should have stayed in.

Like a double axel that isn’t fully rotated, financial mistakes happen. You need to leave the past behind you and keep moving toward your goals.

The best never give up. 26-year old Adam Rippon won the senior men’s national title. However, like many high performers he sometimes suffers from periods of self-doubt and occasional setbacks. In a Twitter post after the event, Rippon credits a strong team for pushing him to do his best and encouraging him to not give up.

You will suffer setbacks and self-doubt as well. The athletic scholarship that was a done deal may come undone. Or the market may take your IRA for a wild ride just as you are about to retire.

Even if the full-ride scholarship doesn’t come through or you retire a few years later than you wished, the goal of a college education with minimal debt or a financially secure retirement can still be reached.

Stay focused and never give up.

Great skaters overcome challenges. Mirai Nagasu came to St. Paul in 2008 and at the age of 15 became the youngest woman since Tara Lipinksi to win the national championship. This year her skating boot ripped on impact during one of her jumps in her short skate. During the free skate she was forced to skate with a boot that was literally patched together with duct tape.

In January your health insurance premiums jumped higher than Nathan Chen in a quadruple lutz. Last year you were prepared to max out your retirement plan, but not for being laid off for the year. Instead of paying down your mortgage, you were faced with unexpected home repairs.

What challenges you will face, anyone could guess. But you will face them.

To reach your financial goals, overcoming life challenges is part of the deal.

Winning takes a variety of skills.Adam Rippon, the men’s champion, summed up the sport of figure skating pretty well when he said, “It’s not a jump competition. It’s not a choreography competition. And it’s not a spin competition. It’s a little bit of everything”.

Financial planning. It’s not an investment competition. It’s not a tax competition. It’s not a budgeting competition. It’s a little bit of everything.

Dorothy Hamill and Sarah Branch. Photo Credit: Danielle Dee

Great skaters give back. My daughters and their friends fearlessly pursued skating greats like Michelle Kwan, Dorothy Hamill, and Scott Hamilton asking them for an autograph and maybe even a picture. All of them were generous and gracious with their time and willingness to share.

Charlie White, the 2014 Olympic Gold Medalist in Ice Dance, noticed my daughter looking his way, autograph book in hand, and with a wink and a nod he indicated for her to come over. He even switched chairs with his co-announcer at the Ice Desk momentarily so that she could snap a quick photo of the two of them together.

I think if she was a couple years older she would have completely melted.

I quickly scanned the crowd for his Olympic partner, Meryl Davis, but sadly a wink and a nod was not in the cards for me.

You are generous with your resources as well. This doesn’t have to change in retirement.

Include a charity as beneficiary on a portion of your IRA. Gift some shares of highly appreciated stock to your church. Volunteer a few hours of your time.

Realizing your retirement goals provides you with opportunities to share and give back in ways that you couldn’t when you were working.

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This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the states of AZ, CA, CO, FL, IA, IN, MN, ND, SD, TN, VA, WA, WI. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident outside the specific state(s) referenced.

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Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., and Focus Financial Network, Inc., do not offer tax or legal advice.

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